As the demand for integrated circuits having ever-smaller device features continues to increase, the need for improved illumination sources used for inspection of these ever-shrinking devices continues to grow. One such illumination source includes a laser-sustained plasma source. Laser-sustained plasma light sources are capable of producing high-power broadband light. Laser-sustained light sources operate by focusing laser radiation into a gas volume in order to excite the gas, such as argon or xenon, into a plasma state, which is capable of emitting light. This effect is typically referred to as “pumping” the plasma. Traditional plasma lamps include plasma bulbs or cells for containing gas used to generate plasma, which are typically formed from a glass or crystalline material. During operation a plasma lamp may experience temperature gradients caused by the non-uniform heating of the plasma lamp by broadband radiation emitted by the plasma. Strong thermal gradients can cause stress within the plasma lamp, which in some cases cause mechanical failure. For example, when powerful broadband radiation passes through a window of a plasma lamp, thermal stress caused by preferential window heating in the center of the window can cause the window to crack. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide an apparatus, system and/or method for curing shortcomings such as those of the identified above.